


Some Sprenly Advice

by Lightbulbs



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Book 03: Oathbringer Spoilers, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 11:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20330050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightbulbs/pseuds/Lightbulbs
Summary: Jasnah is trying to survey Urithiru, but she's interrupted by a request for advice from a strange man looking to become radiant.[Missing scene from Oathbringer]





	Some Sprenly Advice

“Hey! You there!”

The voice echoed in the small room, words sounding all the louder for the relative silence. Jasnah felt a kindling of annoyance, but tried to smother it. She wouldn’t suffer fools, but three words alone weren’t evidence enough of stupidity.

Rudeness, but not necessarily  _ stupidity. _

If she ignored the person calling out for her, perhaps they’d see she was busy in contemplation and would leave her alone.

“Hey!” the voice cried again. “You’re smart. And a Radiant.”

Jasnah sighed. She turned towards the voice, though it was obvious from the accent who was speaking. A young Herdazean man looked at her with dark, earnest eyes. He had a smile that seemed out of place in the gloomy room lit only by dimming spheres.

She glanced down towards her notebook. She was looking for hidden caches of gem recordings, as per Renarin’s suggestion. Her personal opinion was that it was a fool’s errand. Still, as an Elsecaller, she was uniquely suited to assessing the material qualities of the objects around her, and she didn’t want to discredit her young cousin’s attempts at leadership, so she’d offered to look.

In a dispassionate voice, she replied, “Yes, I am.”

The man grinned wider. Why? What was the mirth in this situation? Why did he react as if she’d told a joke?

“Y’see, Cap’n Kaladin’s trying to get us to bond with a spren. I’ve been drinkin’ in Stormlight for a while now”—at this, he raised his hands and wiggled his fingers, as if this were supposed to signify something important—“but I can’t seem to catch anyone’s eye.”

“I see.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, looking expectant. She waited, looking annoyed.

They stood there, staring at one another.

Finally, with a sigh, the man continued, “You’re a Radiant. Got any advice?”

“I should think,” Jasnah said, “that speaking with your captain would be the course of action with the likeliest chance of success.”

She began to walk from the room, finishing up her survey. The walls were all dark stone, solid, with small fissures near the floor. The sound of the man’s boots as he followed was grating, but she chose to ignore it.

He was still following her down the hallway, where she passed by other soldiers and scholars. They ignored her, as was her preference.

“He…” the man said, “Well, he’s got enough on his mind right now. And he’d find it strange if the Lopen asked him for advice, he would!”

Jasnah paused, glancing back. “The Lopen?”

“I’m the Lopen!” His grin kept getting wider and wider, revealing more and more teeth. Jasnah wasn’t sure what to make of him.

_ Is he stupid,  _ she wondered,  _ or just crazy? _

Jasnah had researched the Nahel bond, in so far as there was research to be had. Everything she’d read had pointed to the need for trauma, a breaking point to act as a connection point between man and spren. She wondered what this man’s tragic backstory was. Maybe he’d been hit on the head as a child.

“Anyway,” he continued, “how can I become more radiant? There’s gotta be a way, chortana!”

She cooly raised an eyebrow. “What did you call me?”

“Oh, nothin’,” said the man. He waved a hand, wiggling his fingers again. “Listen, I really could use your help. Any advice. Just a word!”

Jasnah paused. The hallway was quiet, and she was half tempted to steal away into the dark, leaving the annoying man behind. Still, she had to be practical. They’d need every bonded soldier they could get in the days ahead.

Maybe she was growing soft.

“The Nahel bond,” she said, slowly, so he’d know she’d only say this once, “refers to the bond between man and spren. In order for the bond to happen, there must be a break in the soul.”

“In the...soul?”

“Yes. When a person’s soul breaks, either through trauma or malaise, there’s space left behind. Those cracks are the basis of the bond.”

The man looked thoughtful. “So, you’re sayin’ I gotta cry a lot? Moan about my terrible life? Raise my fist to the Stormfather and weep?”

Jasnah opened her mouth to refute him, logical argument already in place. “That’s not—”

He cut her off. “I can do that, I can! The Lopen is very dramatic. I’ll cry as much as the highstorm if I have to.” His bright grin returned. “Thanks, chortana!”

He loped off before Jasnah could utter a word.

_ My,  _ she thought, resuming her walk.  _ What will historians write about the Radiants of this age, I wonder? _

She hoped she’d be around to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> Gancho, you can't just say you visited Jasnah and not talk about it!


End file.
